doctorwhofactsfandomcom-20200215-history
How it started
1.previous events 1963 was a land mark year in June Secretary of State John Profumo was forced to quit the government after his affair with Christine Keeler hit the headlines. Later that same month US President John F Kennedy made a significant trip to West Germany at the height of the cold war. In August the great train robbers made off with over £2 million pounds after an audacious railway heist. Musically, the year began with the likes of Cliff Richard's Summer Holiday riding high in the charts but it wasn't long before a popular beat combo from Liverpool (The Beatles) began releasing hit after hit after hit. In the midst of all this TV had started bringing entertainment to the masses like no other medium before it. The BBC in the early 1960s was experiencing a period of reappraisal. When independant televison began transmitting in 1955, the BBC's broadcasting monopoly disappeared, commercial pressures began exerting their influence and the battle for the audience had begun. Changes in technology meant new ways of working. With the advent of video tape TV drama was no longer broadcast live as it had been in the 1950s. The use of videotape editing and pre-filmed material meant programmes were no longer confined to six sets and four cameras. In a single studio most of the senior management wouldn't or couldn't move with the times. 2. Sydney Newman Up until 1958 he was head of drama for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and the BBC for reasons of its own, bought 26 of his Canadian plays, which were one hour in length, and ran them on the BBC. On the end of them was "Supervising producer Sydney Newman" so his name got heard around in Britain. He later cross cut to ABC televison where he was made Head of Drama for ABC television where he revolutionised the station's drama output. 3. Casting On 25th June 1963 casting had begun for Susan and Miss McGovern (original name for Barabra) Actress's considerd for Susan were: *Maureen Crombie *Anna Palk *Anneke Wills (Polly Wright from 1966-1967) *Waveney Lee *Camilla Hasse for Miss Mcgovern *Phyllida law *Penelope Lee However none of these proved suitable. At the beginning of July the BBC began considering the actors for the role of Doctor Who, these were: *Cyril Cusack *Leslie French They both said they weren't interested so they approached 55 year old actor William Hartnell for the role who eventually took it. The role of Ian Chesterton went to William Russell who at this time was 39. The role of Barabra, the new name for Miss McGovern, was given to Jacqueline Hill making her the third member of the cast to join the programme. The role of Susan was given to Carol Ann Ford completing the cast. 4. The Pilot During the recording the police box prop was too big to get in the elevator so the recording had to be cut short. The first scene to be recorded was Kal walking up to the TARDIS after it has landed. Here are the differences of the Pilot and The Broadcast Version. thumb|300px|left|some of the differences of the Pilot and the broadcast